1. Field of the Invention
This invention is directed toward the field of crib dropside assemblies, more particularly to crib dropside assemblies with hidden hardware in corner posts.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Crib dropside assemblies are employed for allowing at least one of the sides of a crib to be raised or lowered. Access to an infant is thereby facilitated. These cribs are well known in the prior art, and typically employ sides with slats mounted between upper and lower rails. Usually, the long sides of the crib are dropsides, while the short sides of the cribs remain fixed.
Perhaps the most common crib hardware for a dropside assembly is one with a vertical rod mounted parallel to each crib end post, extending through grommets in the top and bottom rails of the side. A latching bar is provided along the bottom rail, which projects into and engages stationary catch elements on the surface of the end posts. The latching bar can be spring biased with the catch elements configured so that simultaneous turning of the bar and a slight lifting of the side is required to release the latch and permit lowering of the side. Alternatively, the latching bar and catch elements can be actuated via a pressure plate connected to the latch elements by rods, such that the double action of pushing the plate in one direction and then a second direction will release the catch elements, and thereby the side, without the need for the slight lifting aforesaid.
The presence of exposed hardware is problematic in crib structures. Aside from being aesthetically unpleasant, children may find exposed hardware a curiosity demanding investigation via touching or tasting. In either case, children can suffer physical injury by interacting with exposed hardware. Such injuries may include laceration, blunt trauma, or disfigurement. Exposed hardware cavities create the risk of pinching fingers of both a child and an adult who, presumably, will be operating the vertical movement of the dropside. Moreover, such cavities or gaps can catch clothing or bedding, damaging both to the annoyance of the operator of the dropside assembly.
There are many crib designs that attempt to minimize the exposure of babies to the potential attractions and dangers of crib hardware. For example, the gap between the ends of a releasable crib side and ends of the crib has been reduced by the simple expedient of providing posts at the ends of the side, with mounting hardware coupling the posts to the adjacent crib ends. U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,436, to Schwartz, illustrates a design with slotted end posts providing a guide path for spring biased locking pins in the side posts. U.S. Pat. No. 5,617,593, to Pham, shows a pin guiding track embedded in the end posts which engage a spring loaded pin mounted in the side post. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,571,409 and 6,611,976 to Guillot disclose top and bottom side post mounted hardware that employs a complex housing/latching mechanism to accomplish its goals. Until the present invention, there has been no uncomplicated design that completely concealed the crib hardware whether the side was in its raised or lowered position.